We are now accepting submissions from current law students for The Common Law, Volume 60, Issue I (Fall 2026)
The Common Law serves as a forum for shorter works, including abridged Notes and seminar papers. The chosen works will undergo an abridged editing process and be published on the JLSP website. Due to the shortened editorial timeline, this is an excellent opportunity to publish time-sensitive or especially newsworthy work.
Submissions must be 20-30 pages, double-spaced in size 12, Times New Roman font. Thorough citations and Bluebooking will be considered in the selection process. The pieces must address a social issue. Submissions are due September 5, 2026, at 11:59 pm.
To apply, please send the following via email to Lyndon DeFoe at LLD2140@columbia.edu:
- First and Last Name
- Law School Email
- Title of Piece
- A brief abstract of your piece (300 words max)
- Why do you want this work to be published? What role do you see it playing (i.e., novel scholarship, informing practitioners, policy advocacy)?
- An attached copy of your piece in a Word document
The Civil Rights Fraud Initiative: A Distortion of the False Claims Act Unlikely to Prevail
By Julide Ozmeral In May of 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) began promoting use of the False Claims Act (FCA) for whistleblowing on organizations maintaining “divisive” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies via its newly minted “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative.” In doing so, the DOJ outlined an unprecedented pathway […]
What Now? Barclift and Intangible Injuries After TransUnion
By Claire Wilson In 2024, in Barclift v. Keystone Credit Services, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit applied a “kind-of-harm” approach to evaluate whether a plaintiff’s intangible injury satisfied the concrete injury requirement for Article III standing. This approach differs substantially from the “element-for-element” approach used by […]
Sentencing Terror in All Forms: Understanding § 3A1.4’s Application in Domestic Terrorism and What It Reveals About Sentencing Foreign Terrorism Cases
By Reza Sarrafian United States v. Betim Kaziu was the first time a federal court explicitly referenced the sentences and eventual pardons of two January 6 defendants when considering the punishment of a foreign terrorism defendant. Betim Kaziu’s resentencing raises questions about how courts should account for differences in sentencing […]
Penetrating FDA Regulation: Justifications for FDA Oversight of Sex “Toys” as Medical Devices
By Tyler Henry Sex devices, commonly referred to as “toys,” have grown in popularity over the past decade and somehow evaded regulations from consumer protection agencies. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has no specific regulatory standards for sex devices, regulating them as “novelty toys.” And the Food and Drug […]
Nonprofit Law’s Antidiscrimination Loophole: Applying a Renewed Private Benefit Standard to Name, Image, and Likeness Collectives
By Kristen Popham America’s rapidly expanding and politically influential nonprofit sector is under increased scrutiny, and nonprofit law has yet to provide answers to critics’ burning questions. If the nonprofit sector is born of a democratic commitment to pluralism and community linkages, what do we make of its contributions to […]
Caregivers as a Class: Considering Antidiscrimination Protections for Caregivers
By Sonia Marton Unpaid caregiving is an enormous element of life for millions of Americans. But caregivers too often suffer discrimination in the paid workplace due to the real or perceived demands of their care work outside of it. Despite this inequality, employment antidiscrimination statutes do not protect caregivers explicitly. […]
The City of (Big) Brotherly Love: Examining the Federal and State Constitutional Implications of Real-Time Crime Center Surveillance in Philadelphia
By Mary Gianna Hill The rise of Real-Time Crime Centers (RTCCs) in the United States, including their implementation in Pennsylvania, marks a significant development in law enforcement surveillance. These centers employ advanced technologies to conduct real-time monitoring of the public. While the primary aim of RTCCs is to enhance public […]
Aberration of Accountability: Situating the Alien Tort Statute Against Corporate Human Rights Abuses
By Sabriyya Pate The Alien Tort Statute (ATS), one of the United States’ oldest laws, provides all federal district courts with general jurisdiction to hear cases brought by non–United States citizens. As written, the ATS empowers non– United States citizens—including victims of torture, kidnapping, forced labor, and child slavery—to sue […]
High-Frequency Litigation: Framing the Narrative of ADA Actions
By Amanda McBain A sharp rise in the filing of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III actions between 2013 and 2021 has furthered the “for-profit” lore surrounding arguments against the standing of serial litigants. Critics have construed the mere propensity of ADA litigants to settle their lawsuits as the […]
One Size Does Not Fit All: Reforming the Federal Sentencing Guidelines’ Terrorism Enhancement
By Anaximander Mars Following the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Congress directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend its Sentencing Guidelines to prescribe a steeper penalty for acts that involve or intend to promote international terrorism. The result is the terrorism sentencing enhancement, which automatically sets a floor […]